This invention relates to the alarm systems including fire alarm and security systems in facilities such as office buildings, factories, and warehouses, and more particularly to a communications system by which an alarm situation occurring at the facility is reported to system managers, responders to emergency situations, and others, together with appropriate information stored in a central database relating to the facility, previous alarms occurring at the facility and other relevant information.
There are several steps or stages involved in the design and installation of fire alarm and security systems. These typically include:                system design including the preparation of installation drawings and bills of material;        system bidding process;        installation of various types of sensors, control panel(s), and ancillary equipment for monitoring the sensors and managing the system;        programming the sensors and control panel control panel for system operation, reporting, auditing, and updating;        system test and acceptance;        on-going system operation including alarm reporting and upgrading.        
It will be appreciated that current fire alarm and security control systems are complex. There are manifested in a myriad of configurations and are uniquely implemented based upon the particular demands imposed by the installation site; i.e., the type of facility and its use, requirements of a building's owners and management, federal and state laws and regulations, and local ordinances and restrictions. Other design factors include how much on-site programming is required to bring the system into operation, and the support, maintenance, and updating or upgrading necessary to keep the system functioning properly once it is in use. The result is a substantial investment in both time and money to design the layout of the system, identify the components incorporated in it and their operational requirements, determine the cost to install the system and bring it “on-line”, and the on-going costs of day-to-day operation, maintenance, and support.
Manufacturers and suppliers of sensors, and control and ancillary equipment usually only provide training and technical support for the products they make and/or sell, making it necessary for dealers and installers to provide the other services required. Moreover, most manufacturers and installers are only concerned with initial sale of their product or service and do not focus on potential recurring revenues from the products and services they provide; i.e., those occurring after the system is up and operating. This is reflected in the system's design. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that current technologies provide a great potential for improving the information and quality of information needed to design, install, and operate of a system; and in particular, the information provided by the system. This means there is a substantial potential for additional income which will be generated by utilizing new technologies to provide this information in an accurate and timely manner.
As one example, a drawback with current systems is the use of separate databases one of which is maintained at the installation site of the system, and another of which is maintained at a monitoring site that is usually remote from the premises where the system is installed. Both databases should include the same information about the system, its layout, the location of each sensor in the system, and system operation. This information, and information about the building and its condition, is vital to responding authorities (fire, police, medical, hazardous materials (hazmat)) when an alarm occurs. Unfortunately, it is often found that the data maintained in the one database is inconsistent with that maintained in the other. In a typical situation, a sensor has failed and been replaced. In doing so, a different type sensor, or newer model of the original sensor has been installed in its place. Or, the system has been expanded with a new branch added to the system that required new sensors to be installed. In either instance, the address of the new sensor (used in polling the sensor and identifying the location of the sensor when it goes into alarm), and operational information concerning the sensor, has not been entered into all the databases. Most often, the replacement or addition is so recent that while one database has been updated, the other has not. When that sensor now goes into alarm, the monitoring station will not necessarily know which sensor went off, the location of the sensor, or why it went off. All of this is important to identify whether an alarm is false, and if not false, what information to provide responders.
Another problem occurring during the initial stage of system design is the significant number of changes which usually take place. As the building layout is developed, the floor plan is re-arranged, then re-arranged, then re-arranged again. Offices and work areas are moved about, or made larger or smaller. Areas requiring access control are added, deleted, or moved. Entrances, exits, and the locations of hazardous materials or repositories for important items such as corporate records, works of art, precious metals, etc. are shifted from one place to another. As these changes occur, so does the configuration of the alarm system. Sensors need to be moved from here to there, more sensors are added or subtracted, new types of sensors are incorporated into the system.
A number of things flow from these changes. One is the cost of components. As sensors, control panels, ancillary equipment is added or changed, so do component costs. Specialized sensors for particular monitoring functions will especially add to the cost. A system installer bidding on the project needs to know how of many items are being installed, what goes where, each components' operational requirements, and what type of cabling, connectors, fixtures, etc. will be needed since all of these impact his estimate and his bid. He must also factor in labor costs (installers, management and support personnel), and overhead and profit, in order to develop a realistic proposal to submit for the project. If changes are continually being made, and these are not timely provided to the contractor, his proposal will not be realistic causing him to lose the bid; or if it is awarded to him, subsequent disputes when he starts to go over budget or finds that he cannot complete the job within his bid. In either instance, problems will result that are unnecessary.